Hershey (NYSE:HSY) CFO Sells $291,150.00 in Stock

Key Points

• CFO sold stock: Hershey CFO Steven Voskuil sold 1,500 shares on April 20 at an average price of $194.10 for $291,150 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, trimming his stake by 2.53% to 57,695 shares (about $11.2M).
• Earnings beat and guidance: Hershey reported Q earnings of $1.71 EPS (vs. $1.40 expected) and $3.09B revenue (vs. $2.97B expected), and set FY2026 guidance of $8.20–$8.52 EPS with analysts projecting roughly $8.37.
• Dividend raised but payout high: The company boosted its quarterly dividend to $1.452 ($5.81 annualized) for a ~3.1% yield, while its dividend payout ratio stands at about 133.9%.

Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) CFO Steven Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.10, for a total transaction of $291,150.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 57,695 shares in the company, valued at $11,198,599.50. The trade was a 2.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Hershey Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of Hershey stock traded down $2.62 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $188.83. 1,258,365 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,008,542. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.72. Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $150.04 and a 1-year high of $239.48. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $215.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $197.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.27 billion, a PE ratio of 43.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.18.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.31. Hershey had a net margin of 7.55% and a return on equity of 27.90%. The company had revenue of $3.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.69 EPS. Hershey's quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.200-8.520 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 8.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th were given a dividend of $1.452 per share. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. This is a boost from Hershey's previous quarterly dividend of $1.37. Hershey's dividend payout ratio is presently 133.87%.

Institutional Trading of Hershey

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HSY. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 15,310 shares of the company's stock worth $2,618,000 after acquiring an additional 937 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 20.2% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 697 shares of the company's stock worth $116,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL bought a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 2nd quarter worth $267,000. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 17,927 shares of the company's stock worth $2,975,000 after acquiring an additional 769 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 22,247 shares of the company's stock worth $3,692,000 after acquiring an additional 1,149 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of Hershey in a research note on Monday, April 13th. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Hershey from $185.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Hershey from $238.00 to $247.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $249.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $224.94.

Hershey Company Profile

The Hershey Company NYSE: HSY is a leading North American chocolatier and snack manufacturer headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The company develops, produces and markets a wide range of confectionery and snack products for retail, foodservice and international customers. Hershey's business spans manufacturing, branded product marketing, packaging and distribution across grocery, convenience, mass merchant and e-commerce channels.

Hershey's product portfolio centers on chocolate and sugar confectionery, including core brands such as Hershey's, Reese's, Hershey's Kisses and Twizzlers, alongside non-chocolate snacks and confectionery brands.

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